Kneeling pad and method of making the same



Aug. 12, 1952 B 1 SM1-n.; 2,606,598-

KNEELING PAD AND METHOD oF MAKING THE SAME:

Filed April 21, 1950 2 SHEETS- SHEET 1 IN VEN TOR.

BENJAMIN J. SMITH Aug 12, 1952 B. J. SMITH KMEELING PAD AMD METHOD oFMAKING THE SAME 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed April 21, 1950 l l lll/4rllll//l//l//A unf f/ lllllllllll Il JNVENTOR. BENJAMIN J.

Patented Aug. 12, 1952 asv PATENT o FFICE KNEELING PADAAND METHOD oFMAKING Benjamin J. smith, st. Louis county, M0.

Application April 21, 1950, Serial No. 157,201

THE

This inventionV relates to kneeling pads `and methods of producing them,and particularly to such a pad which is adapted to be placed on a benchin a church, or the like, where the congregation kneels duringservices,"or wherever required for the comfort of one who is-obligedtoassume a kneeling position. Y,

The principal object of the invention is to produce a pad of this typefrom which the harder, square edges found in the ordinary kneeling padare'eliminated in favorV of soft, rounded edges, without the use ofspeciallyvpre-molded sponge rubber with soft rounded edges, whichrequires costly moldingequipment and which is limited in dimensions tothe molding equipment, and without relying on the compressibility of thesponge rubber to obtain soft, rounded edges. The soft, rounded edges notonly add .to the comfort of the user, but also increase the life of thepad, since it reduces wear on the covering material at these soft,rounded edges. Anotherl advantage of my pad is that it may be producedwith the minimum of time and labor, which makes for-low cost ofproduction.

In the drawingsy.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bench showing one of my kneeling padsin operative position thereon.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1,showing particularly the means for effecting the rounded edges of mypad.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional View, similar to Fig. 2. of amodification of my kneeling pad. l

' Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation showing the elements of my kneelingpad in position before pressure is applied thereto. p

Fig. 5,is a view similar'to Fig. lvbutrwith the elements in positionafter pressure Ahas been applied thereto.

My new kneeling pad comprises a base I, preferably of wood and ofrectangular shape. A layer of sponge rubber 2 of the same dimensions asthe base I is secured to the upper surface of the base by means of anysuitable adhesive 3,. A second layer of sponge rubber 4 is mounted uponthe layer 2, and secured thereto by a coating of adhesive 5, the layer 4being of such length and width as to permit of its extending over theends and sides of the layer 2 and the base I to the bottom of said base,as shown at 4a, and the adhesive 5 also extends to the bottom of thebase I as shown at 5'. The kneeling pad is provided with a covering B ofany suitable, durable material, for instance, a strong fabric simulating"dz'olaims (c1. 15s- 166) leather, and this covering material 6 extendsover the entire surface of the sponge rubber 4, including the sides andends, and extends for a short distance underneath the base I at thesides and ends thereof, as shown at 6', and is secured in any suitablemanner, forV instance, by staples (not shown).

My method for producing the above described kneeling pad is as follows:

I place two blocks A of any suitable material, preferably wood, upon asupport, for instance a table, spacing them apart at a distance equal tothe width of the kneeling pad which I wish to form, the blocks A beingof such length as is necessary to form a kneeling pad of the desiredlength. l

Upon the upper surfaces of the blocks A I lay a single section of heavysheet rubber B, which is of such dimensions that it will extend over theentire space C between the blocks A and can be turned under said blocks,as shown at B', so that the rubber sheet is securely anchored.

Upon the rubber sheet B I lay a section of the covering material B,which is of such dimensions that its'outer portions will extend over theblocks A and hang for a short' distance against the outer surfacesofsaid blocks, as seen in Fig. 4. The layer of sponge rubber 4 is nowlaid upon the covering material 6, and, as also seen in Fig. 4, thislayer of rubber is slightly wider than the space between the blocks A,so that its marginal portions rest upon said blocks. The coating ofadhesive 5 is then 'applied to the upper surface of the rubber 4, andthe layer of sponge rubber 2 is placed upon said adhesive, the rubber 2being of smaller dimensions than the rubber 4, as will also be seen inFig. 4. 'Ihe coating 3 of the adhers'ive is then applied Vto the uppersurface of the rubber 2, and the wood base I, of the same size as therubber 2, is placed upon the adhesive 3, so that the edges of the woodbase I and the sponge rubber 2 are flush with each other.

When the above elements have been positioned as described, as the nextstep in my method I apply downward pressure to the assembly by means ofany suitable type of pressure arm D, which is placed upon the wood baseI. As downward pressure is applied, the elements are gradually forcedinto the positions shown in Fig. 5; that is to say, the downwardpressure causes stretching in a downward direction of the rubber sheet Bbetween the blocks A by reason of its elasticity, while at the same timethe blocks A hold the stretched portion of said sheet between theblocks, which has the effect of causing the rubber sheet B to assume thecurving contour shown at B2 in Fig. 5. As the rubber sheet B assumesthis position, the sponge rubber 4 is forced downwardly by the pressurebar into the position shown in Fig. 5, so that it assumes the samedegree of curvature as does the sheet rubber, and at the same time thepressure compresses the outer portions of the sponge rubber, as seen at42. The covering material 6 retains its position between the rubbersheet B andthe sponge rubber 4, remaining smooth and unwrinkled duringthis operation.

During the procedure just described, the

sponge rubber 2 also is forced downwardly into the position shown inFig. 5 until it is seated in the space formed by the curving spongerubber 4, and the base I also is forced downwardly into said space, alsoas seen in Fig. 5. I

When all of the parts have assumed the posiv- Y tions above describedand as shown in Fig. 5, theloosely hanging end and side portions of thematerial 6 are folded over the wood base I and se curelyv fastenedthereto by means of staples (not shown) or in any preferred manner, asseen at 6 in Fig. 2, so that all of the elements are held together asabove described, in which the adhesives 3 and 5 assist.

The completed kneeling pad is now ready to be removed from betweenthevblocks A upon release of the pressure arm D. It is obvious thatduring the operation just described the wood base I is uppermost, butnaturally when the pad is removed from between the blocks A its positionis reversed so that in use the base I is at the bottom of the p ad, asshown in Fig. 2.

The modification shown in Fig. 3 diifers only slightly from thepreferred form above described. In this form the base I' extends theentire length and width of the kneeling pad.v The sponge rubber pad 2 ismounted thereon and secured to the base I' by the adhesive 3', whichadhesive however extends to the edges of the base I so that there is aportion of saidv adhesive leftA exposed beyond the sponge rubber 2,which in turn has a coating of the adhesive 5. A second sponge rubberpad 4 is mounted upon the pad 2, but the sponge rubber 4', instead ofextending to the bottom of the base as does; the pad 4, in thepreferredv form, terminates at the upper surface of'thebase I and issecured thereto by the adhesive 3', be ing secured to the sponge rubber2 by the adhesive 5. In this modified form also the covering material 6extendsl over the entireV surface of the kneeling pad, including thesides and ends, and extends for a short distance underneath. the baseI', as shown at 6', where it is securedv in any suitable manner.

Since the method followed in making the modied form of myrinventioncorresponds exactly to the method for producing the preferred form asdescribed above, it is deemed unnecessary to repeat this description.Sufce it to say that in making the modified form the sponge rubber t issomewhat smaller than the sponge rubber l5 so that upon the applicationof pressure its outer portions will sink below the upper edges of theblocks A, and on the other hand, the wood base I is larger than the woodbase I. being of approximately the same dimensions as the space betweenthe blocks A. The application of downward pressure and other stepsdescribed in connection with the preferred form of the invention arefollowed in making the modified form.

I claim:

1. A kneeling pad comprising a rigid base and a plurality of layers ofresilient material, one of said layers adjacent said base being of smalldimensions than said base and being securely mounted thereon, and theuppermost of said layers .being of larger dimensions so as to extendover said first-mentioned layer and having its outermost portionssecured to said base to present soft,A rounded edges at the perimeter ofsaid kneeling pad, said base and the respective layers of resilientmaterial being secured by adhesives, and a cover comprising a singlesection of material tting closely over the entire upper surface of saidkneeling pad' and being secured to the lower surface of said base.

2. The method of making a kneeling pad which comprises placing a.section of elastic fabric upon a pair of spaced apart blocks,superimposing upon said elastic fabric a section of covering materialfor said kneeling pad, superimposing layers of resilientr material uponsaid' covering material, superimposing upon said resilient material abase for said kneeling pad', adhesively fastening said layers ofresilient material and said base together, applying downward pressure tosaid assembled parts to cause the sides and ends of such resilientmaterial' to be rounded, and securing the outer portions of saidcoveringy material to the exposed surface' of said base while beingretained under such downward pressure and then releasing the downward.pressure.

BENJAMIN J. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are o1 record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED s'rA'rEs PATENTS Number Name Date 1,680,509 Ducy Aug. 14, 19282,053,471 Frost Sept., 8, 1936 OTHER REFERENCES Montgomery-Ward Catalog,1941-1942, No. 135, p. 254, items Nos. 1.66Ab093, 166A632'1- ChurchProperty Administration, March and April, pp. 30 and 80.

